Means for applying paint in long narrow strips



March 30, 1965 c. KAMONDY ETAL 3,175,242

MEANS FOR APPLYING PAINT IN LONG NARROW STRIPS Filed July 15, 1963 INVENTORS CHARLES 'SfAsvAzv CHAIZLES KAMONDV AGENT United States Patent 3,175,242 MEANS FOR APPLYENG PAINT lhl LGNG NARROW TRlPS Charles Kamondy, 1744 Manteca, Van Nuys, (Ialiil, and Charles Vasvary, E562 Scouras St, Canoga Park, Calif. Filed July 15, 1963, Ser. No. 295,116 12 Claims. (Cl. 15-559) The invention herein described pertains to a device for applying paint to narrow surfaces and more particularly to a device of this kind in which the paint is supplied from a reservoir incorporated within the device.

It is frequently required to paint molding, narrow ledges and long fillets of putty without getting paint on surrounding surfaces. In order to keep the paint from being applied inadvertently to such surrounding surfaces, it has been a common practice in the past to cover them with masking tape extending right to the edge of the surface that is to be painted. Considerable time is consumed in masking off the surfaces that are to be thus protected.

The principal object of the present invention is to make it unnecessary to mask the surfaces adjoining those that are to be painted and to provide a device for applying the paint that will have a built-in paint reservoir, a narror applicator for traversing the surface to be painted and an adjustable guide that will make it easy to keep the applicator on the desired surface without exercising any special care.

Another object is to provide an applicator that is flexible and conformable to the contour of the surface that it is to traverse.

An additional object is to provide an applicator with at least one porous wall and a small auxiliary paint reservoir in contact therewith for supplying paint thereto.

A further object is to provide means whereby the up plicator may readily be connected to the rest of the device or disconnected therefrom.

Still another object is to provide a pair of resilient jaws for receiving a conforming portion of the applicator therebetween, the member that comprises the jaws having an intermediate portion whereby it may be connected to the conduit that supplies the paint from the main reservoir which forms a part of the device.

Yet another object is to provide a guide for the applicator whereby the applicator may be spaced by any de sired distance within limits from an adjoning parallel surface that is at an angle to the narrow elongated surface which is to be painted.

Still other objects will appear as the specification proceeds.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of our device with the paint reservoir or container shown in longitudinal section.

FIG. 2 shows our device in painting position with respect to a window having a cross member to which paint is being applied.

FIG. 3 shows the paint applying tip or applicator of our device with certain parts in cross section together with the bracket whereby it is attached to the tube which supplies the paint.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the lower wall of the applicator showing its porous construction and the filaments on its outer surface, this perspective viewbeing oriented about 45 degrees clockwise from the position that it would occupy were it a true section on line 4--l of FIG. 3;

I FIG. 5 illustrates the manner in which our flexible applicator conforms to the surface that is receiving the paint.

FIG. 6 shows the guiding device and its relationship with respect to the main cylindrical reservoir which serves as .a handle for the entire device.

3,l?5,242 Patented Mar. 36, 1965 FIG. 7 shows the adjustable mounting bracket for the guide.

FIG. 8 is a section taken on line 88 of FIG. 1.

Our device comprises an applicator or tip 1, FIGS. 1, 3 and 5, and a barrel or paint reservoir 2 connected to the tip 1 by means of a conduit 3 which carries the paint from the cylindrical reservoir 2 to the paint-applying tip 1. A piston 3, attached to one end of the plunger 4, traverses the inner walls of the cylinder or barrel 2 and is held in proper alignment by means of ways 5 provided in member 6 which acts as a closure for one end of the cylinder 2. A coiled spring 7 surrounds the plunger 4, and as it'expands between the piston 3 and the closure member 6, it forces the piston toward the wall 8 that closes the end of the cylinder opposite from member 6.

The end wall 8 is provided with a central port that communicates with the interior of the conduit 3. The entire conduit structure may be rigid or optionally provided with a flexible outer portion 9. A valve 143 may be interposed in the conduit structure 3 between the tip l. and the opening or port ll in the wall 8 for shutting on or off or controlling the ilow of paint from the inside of the cylinder to the paint-applying tip 1.

At present we prefer to make the applicator end of resilient material such as synthetic rubber and to form a cavity 12 therein as indicaed in FIG. 3. The upper portion of the resilient member 1 is provided with opposite side walls 13 and 14 that taper inwardly for cooperation with a yoke-like resilient metal bracket 15 having a central aperture therein to receive the reduced end ll? of the conduit 9, the shoulder 1d of member 9 resting against the top surface of bracket 15. Inasmuch as member 1 is formed of resilient material such as synthetic rubber, member 1 may be pressed upward during initial assembly or replacement by first inserting the reduced end 17 in the top of the hole in member 1 and then pressing the applicator upward. Due to the resilience of both the yoke 15 and the applicator l, the upper portion of the applicator will readily slip through the narrow space between the lower ends of the side walls 13 and 14 of the bracket, and the tip 1 will be held in place not only by the pressure of the side walls 13 and 14 on the sides of the upper portion of the tip 1, but also by the close fit between the reduced end of the conduit 9 and the inner walls of the opening through the solid upper portion of the tip memher.

The cavity 12 in'the lower portion of member 1 is closed by a porous wall 18 which may be made of sponge rubber or a flexible material such as a fabric. It will be noted in FIG. 3 that the tip of reduced end 19 of the conduit 9 does not reach the lower wall lid. The clearance thus provided permits the incoming paint to escape from the bottom of the reduced end 17 of the conduit 9 and to spread throughout the recess 12.

We at present prefer that short hair-like filaments 19 be provided on the under surface of the flexible porous Wall 13 in order to receive the paint passing through wall 18 and to facilitate the spreading of the paint on the surface to which it is to be supplied, but this is not essential. i

The paint reservoir 2t) within the barrel or cylinder 2 may be filled by pulling the tip 1 from the bracket 15 and from the lower end 17 of the conduit and then holding the end of the conduit in the paint that is to be used While pulling outwardly on the handle 21 in order to move the piston 3 toward the closure 6, the suction thus formed in the chamber 29 serving to draw in the paint through the valve. 10' which will of course have been turned to an open position before. beginning the filling process.

An alternative method for filling the reservoir is to disconnect the curved end Si of the conduit 3 from the valve portion by removing the threaded cap 22 which serves to hold section 9 of the conduit to the valve portion in a manner well known by those experienced with tubes and valves, the exact structure therefore not being further explained herein as it of course forms no portion of the instant invention per se. With the stem 9 and the tip 1 removed along with the apertured cap nut 22, the stub outer end 23 of the valve section may be immersed in the paint which can then be drawn into the cylinder by means of the handle 21 as previously explained. After the reservoir 2t? has been filled by either of the means hereinbefore described, the valve should of course be kept closed excepting when the device is in use.

As an optional aid to the accurate positioning of the tip 1 on the ledge or narrow section to which the paint is to be applied, we provide a guide 24 which is particularly helpful if the edge of the applicator or tip 1 that is most remote from the barrel is not to remain abutted against a vertical wall 25 while the applicator is swept across the strip to which the paint is being applied. We prefer to form the arm or guide 24 with a bifurcated outer end as shown at 26 and to rotatably mount a roller 27 between the two opposite prongs of the bifurcated section.

It is preferable that the guide arm be mounted parallel to the barrel 2, but it may be attached either to the conduit 3 or to the barrel itself, although we presently prefer to mount it on the conduit by means of a bracket 28 which may conveniently be made of a strip of resilient metal shaped as shown in FIG. 7. This bracket comprises a circular portion 31 between its two opposite sides for receiving the conduit 9, and it has two opposed substantially parallel forks 29 and fill for adjustably grasping the arm 24, Thesetines 29 and 3t are clamped 'against the sideof member 24, and the circular portion 31 is snugged around the tube 9 by means of a clamping screw 34 which may draw the opposite portions 32 and 33 of the clamp together in any of a variety of ways well known in the art and therefore not further described 'or illustrated here. Suflice it to say that when the thumb screw or wing nut 34 is loosened, the guide arm 24 may be moved longitudinally to the desired position and it may be maintained in its adjusted position merely by retightening member 34.

If our device is to be used for painting a strip or ledge such as ledge 35 in FIG. 5, where the surface to be painted is at an angle with respect to an adjacent surface, such as surface 36, it is not essential that the guide 24 be used, as the tip 1 may in this case be swept across the surface of the ledge 35 without applying any appreciable amount of paint to the surface 36; but even in such an application as that indicated in FIG. 5, the guide arm 24 may nevertheless be employed in the manner shown in FIG. 2 where the roller 2'7 on the end of the arm 24 is rolling along the pane 36 as the tip 1 traverses the cross member 37.

Various modifications may of course be made in the structure herein described and shown on the drawings, and components may be substituted by other parts performing the same function, and various elements of the combination may be rearranged or transposed without departing from the broad spirit of my invention as succinctly set forth in the appended claims.

Our claims are:

1. In a device for applying paint to narrow surfaces, a combination including: an elongated container comprising a cylinder; a closure for one end of said cylinder having a centrally disposed aperture; a piston fitted in said cylinder for longitudinal movement therein; a plungor attached to said piston and extending through said aperture; a coiled spring surrounding said plunger and expanding between said closure and said piston; a wall closing the other end of said cylinder, said wall having a port therein; an applicator comprising a hollow resilient shell having at least one porous wall, the "outer surface of said wall having short hair-like filaments extending therefrom; and a conduit communicating with said port and the interior of said shell whereby paint from said cylinder may enter said shell under pressure of said spring.

2. In a device for applying paint to narrow surfaces, a combination including: an elongated container comprising a cylinder; a closure for one end of said cylinder hav ing a centrally disposed aperture; a piston fitted in said cylinder for longitudinal movement therein; a plunger attached to said piston and extending through said aperture; a coiled spring surrounding said plunger and expanding between said closure and said piston; a wall closing the other end of said cylinder, said wall having a port therein; an applicator comprising a hollow resilient siell having at least one porous wall, the outer surface of said wall having short hair-like filaments extending therefrom; a conduit communicating with said port and the interior of said shell whereby paint from said cylinder may enter said shell under pressure of said spring; and a valve interposed in said conduit between said port and said shell for controlling the flow of paint through said conduit.

3. In a device for applying paint to narrow surfaces, a combination including: an elongated container comprising a cylinder; a closure for one end of said cylinder having a centrally disposed aperture; a piston fitted in said cylinder for longitudinal movement therein; a plunger attached to said piston and extending through said aperture; a coiled spring surrounding said plunger and expanding between said closure and said piston; a wall closing the other end of said cylinder, said wall having a port therein; an applicator comprising a hollow resilient shell having at least one porous wall, the outer surface of said wall having short hair-like filaments extending therefrom; and a flexible conduit communicating with said port and the interior of said shell whereby paint from said cylinder may enter said shell under pressure of said spring.

4. In a device for applying paint to narrow surfaces, a combination including: an elongated container comprising a cylinder; a closure for one end of said cylinder having a centrally disposed aperture; a piston fitted in said cylinder for longitudinal movement therein; a plunger attached to said piston and extending through said aperture; a wall closing the other end of said cylinder, said Wall having a port therein; an applicator comprising a hollow resilient shell having at least one porous wall, the outer surface of said wall having short hair-like filaments extending therefrom; and a conduit communicating with said port and the interior of said shell whereby paint from said cylinder may enter said shell.

5. In a device for applying paint to narrow surfaces, a combination including: an elongated container comprising a cylinder; a closure'for one end of said cylinder having a centrally disposed aperture; a piston fitted in said cylinder for longitudinal movement therein; a plunger attached to said piston and extending through said aperture; a Wall closing the other end of said cylinder, said wall having a port therein; an applicator comprising a hollow resilient shell having at least one porous wall, the outer surface of said wall having short hair-like filaments extending therefrom; and a flexible conduit communicating with said port and the interior of said shell whereby paint from said cylinder may enter said shell.

6. In a device for applying paint to narrow surfaces, a combination including: an elongated container comprising a cylinder; a closure for one end of said cylinder having a centrally disposed aperture; a piston fitted in said cylinder for longitudinal movement therein; a plunger attached to said piston and extending through said aperture; a wall closing the other end of said cylinder, said wall having a port therein; an applicator comprising a 55 hollow resilient shell having at least one porous Wall, the outer surface of said wall having short hair-like filaments extending therefrom; a conduit having one end connected to said port for receiving paint from said cylinder; and means for detachably connecting said applicator to the other end of said conduit.

7. In a device for applying paint to narrow surfaces, a combination including: an elongated container comprising a cylinder; a closure for one end of said cylinder having a centrally disposed aperture; a piston fitted in said cylinder for longitudinal movement therein; a plunger attached to said piston and extending through said aperture; a wall closing the other end of said cylinder, said Wall having a port therein; an applicator comprising a hollow resilient shell having at least one porous wall, the outer surface of said wall having short hair-like filaments extending therefrom; a conduit having one end connected to said port for receiving paint from said cylinder; a valve interposed in said conduit for controlling the flow of paint therethrough; and means for detachably connecting said applicator to the other end of said conduit.

8. In a device for applying paint to narrow surfaces, a combination including: an elongated container comprising a cylinder; a closure for one end of said cylinder having a centrally disposed aperture; a piston fitted in said cylinder for longitudinal movement therein; a plunger attached to said piston and extending through said aperture; a wall closing the other end of said cylinder, said wall having a port therein; an applicator comprising a hollow resilient shell having at least one porous wall, the outer surface of said wall having short hair-like filaments extending therefrom; a conduit having one end connected to said port for receiving paint from said cylinder; means for detachably connecting said applicator to the other end of said conduit; and guiding instrumentalities attached to one of the elements of said device between said closure and said shell, said instrumentalities comprising (a) a rod disposed generally parallel to said cylinder and (b) means for so adjustably mounting said rod that the distance from the outer end thereof to said closure may be varied.

9. In a device for applying paint to narrow surfaces, a combination including: an elongated container comprising a cylinder; a closure for one end of said cylinder having a centrally disposed aperture; a piston fitted in said cylinder for longitudinal movement therein; a plunger attached to said piston and extending through said aperture; a wall closing the other end of said cylinder, said wall having a port therein; an applicator comprising a hollow resilient shell having at least one porous wall, the outer surface of said wall having short hair-like filaments extend-ing therefrom; a conduit having one end connected to said port for receiving paint from said cylinder; means for detachably connecting said applicator to the other end of said conduit; and guiding instrumentalities attached to one of the elements of said device between said closure and said shell, said instrumentalities comprising (a) an elongated member disposed generally parallel to said cylinder and having a roller rotatably mounted on the end thereof most remote from said closure and (b) means for so adjustably mounting said rod that the distance between said roller and said closure may he varied.

10. In a device for applying paint to narrow surfaces, a combination including: an elongated container comprising a cylinder; .a closure for one end of said cylinder having a centrally disposed aperture; a piston fitted in said cylinder for longitudinal movement therein; a plunger attached to said piston and extending through said aperture; a wall closing the other end of said cylinder, said wall having a port therein; an applicator comprising an elastic block having a recess therein, (a) a porous sheet closing said recess and (b) a passageway extending through the side of said block opposite from said wall and communicating with said recess; and a conduit communicating with said port and said passageway whereby paint from said cylinder may enter said recess.

11. In a device for applying paint to narrow surfaces, a combination including: an elongated container comprising a cylinder; a closure for one end of said cylinder having a centrally disposed aperture; a piston fitted in said cylinder for longitudinal movement therein; a plunger attached to said piston and extending through said aperture; a wall closing the other end of said cylinder, said wall having a port therethrough; an applicator comprising a renitent "clock having a recess therein covered by a porous sheet with short hair-like filaments extending from the exterior surface thereof, said block embodying an opening extending through the side thereof opposite from said wall and communicating with said recess; and a conduit communicating with said port and said opening whereby paint from said cylinder may enter said recess for passage through said porous sheet to said filaments.

12. In a device for applying paint to narrow surfaces, a combination including: an elongated container comprising a cylinder; a closure for one end of said cylinder having a centrally disposed aperture; a piston fitted in said cylinder for longitudinal movement therein; a plunger attached to said piston and extending through said aperture; a wall closing the other end of said cylinder, said wall having a port therein; an applicator comprising an elastic block having a recess therein (a) a porous sheet closing said recess and (b) a passageway extending through the side of said block opposite from said wall and communicating with said recess; a conduit communicating with said port and said passageway whereby paint from said cylinder may enter said recess; and a pair of arms extending from opposite sides of said conduit adjacent said block, each of said arms so formed with an angle therein that the two arms may straddle said block and grip it between them.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,783,683 12/30 Tomlinson 15-595 X 1,830,860 11/31 Scoles 15-556 X 1,947,714 2/34 Harmon 15-559 2,913,151 11/59 Wiseman et al 15-608 X CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner. 

4. IN A DEVICE FOR APPLYING PAINT TO NARROW SURFACES, A COMBINATION INCLUDING: AN ELONGATED CONTAINER COMPRISING A CYLINDER; A CLOSURE FOR ONE END OF SAID CYLINDER HAVING A CENTRALLY DISPOSED APERTURE; A PISTON FITTED IN SAID CYLINDER FOR LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT THEREIN; A PLUNGER ATTACHED TO SAID PISTON AND EXTENDING THROUGH SAID APERTURE; A WALL CLOSING THE OTHER END OF SAID CYLINDER, SAID WALL HAVING A PORT THEREIN; AN APPLICATOR COMPRISING A HOLLOW RESILIENT SHELL HAVING AT LEAST ONE POROUS WALL, THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID WALL HAVING SHORT HAIR-LIKE FILAMENTS EXTENDING THEREFROM; AND A CONDUIT COMMUNICATING WITH SAID PORTS AND THE INTERIOR OF SAID SHELL WHEREBY PAINT FROM SAID CYLINDER MAY ENTER SAID SHELL. 